The other day in the Judiciary Committee there was another of Sensenbrenner's "I'm going to take my gavel and go home" episodes. Democrats
June 28, 2006

SensenB_Conyers.jpg The other day in the Judiciary Committee there was another of Sensenbrenner's "I'm going to take my gavel and go home" episodes. Democrats defeated the Republican Pledge Protection Act (court stripping legislation) and, in violation of Committee procedures, Sensenbrenner refused to allow the vote to count. Even though the vote was already taken and the measure defeated, he is trying to bring the bill up again today like nothing happened.

icon Download -QT icon Download (This clip is in two parts and are edited together)

You can see Sensenbrenner scambling to adjourn in the first segment. He tries to explain the rules as he sees them to Rep. Conyers who is objecting to Sensenbrenner's actions. At the end of the clip Sensenbrenner makes believe that he never heard Conyers complain in the first place. That's honesty I tell you.! The graphic I posted is the time when Sensenbrenner is explaining the rules to Conyers.

Press Release

Judiciary Committee Democrats Defeat Court Stripping Bill
In a surprise vote today in the Judiciary Committee, Democrats defeated legislation to strip the federal courts of the ability to review constitutional challenges concerning the Pledge of Allegiance. The bill, H.R. 2389, was defeated on a 15-15 vote, with all Democrats voting against the measure, joined by South Carolina Republican Bob Inglis.

While it appeared that the Republicans were planning to employ procedural motions to reconsider the vote, by the afternoon it became clear that they were forced to abandon those efforts.

Commenting on the vote today, Rep. John Conyers Jr. stated, "although I firmly believe that voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional and have voted in favor of a resolution to that effect, it would have been wrong to use this issue to commit another wrong – stripping the federal courts of jurisdiction to review constitutional issues.

"By denying the Supreme Court its historical role as the final authority on the constitutionality of federal laws, this bill would have unconstitutionally usurped the Court’s power and violated the principle of separation of powers that sets our government apart from the rest of the world."

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